The Acme farm supply business was a fixture in downtown Nashville for nearly 100 years until it closed in the early 1990’s.

The brick building, located at 101 Broadway, has been vacant ever since.

Morales told News 2 he’s been interested in the building for years, but it has been part of a family trust and wasn’t for sale.

The time was apparently right last fall when Morales, owner of TomKats Catering, along with a group of high-profile investors including Steve Moore, former CEO of the Country Music Association, country music star Alan Jackson, Crocs Inc. founder George Boedecker Jr. and music industry publicist Nancy Russell announced plans for the new restaurant.

The group signed a long-term lease. Part of the deal was that they would maintain the integrity of the building.

“We were persistent and the family finally said, ‘Hey do it, but do it right,’ and so we took that as our marching orders,” said Morales.

Morales told News 2 they tried not to change anything except what was required by the Metro Codes Department.

Everything inside the building has been repurposed.

“The tables here are the braces to the subfloor and it’s just beautiful wood. The beadboard ceiling and subfloors also became part of the bar,” Morales pointed out during News 2’s tour. “It’s been really fun watching something that most people consider construction trash become something that is usable.”